Magnetic recording systems (such as tape recording systems) record bits of information to a magnetic medium using a write/read head composed of write and read transducers. During both write and read operations, the write and record heads need to be positioned accurately over the data tracks of the magnetic medium. This is achieved by controlling the position of the write/read head in reference to servo-marks prewritten to servo tracks of the magnetic medium. The servo marks are written to a pre-erased medium using a servo write head. The accuracy of writing and reading data strongly depends on how well the pre-erase is performed and how well servo marks are written to the medium. Existing methods either do not produce high signal output or require complex write head structures to properly pre-erase or write the servo tracks and/or at the same time properly pre-erase the data tracks. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to mitigate the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.